22\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>That night Jacob got up and took his two wives, his two female servants and his eleven sons<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>and crossed the ford of the Jabbok.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>23\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>After he had sent them across the stream, he sent over all his possessions.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>24\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>So Jacob was left alone,<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>and a man<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>wrestled with him till daybreak.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>25\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob\u2019s hip<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man.<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>26\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>Then the man said, \u201cLet me go, for it is daybreak.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n But Jacob replied, \u201cI will not let you go unless you bless me.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n 27\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>The man asked him, \u201cWhat is your name?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cJacob,\u201d<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>he answered.<\/em><\/p>\n 28\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/strong>Then the man said, \u201cYour name<\/em>\u00a0<\/em>will no longer be Jacob, but Israel,<\/em> because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n I always go back to Jacob. Whenever I feel weird or too distant in my prayer time, I go back to him. He\u2019s just so confident in his relationship with God. He took his father\u2019s blessing from Esau. He fled the land and worked for Laban for decades for Rachel (and Leah), poor Leah always in parentheses. He pleads when he prays, but he prays with conviction. He amassed a fortune and eleven sons.<\/p>\n This night that he wrestles with God is the eve of his homecoming. And forces are gathering. Esau has sent 400 men to greet his long-lost brother and we can assume it\u2019s not to throw him a high five. Naturally, it\u2019s going to be a restless night for Jacob. But even in his uncertainty, even in the face of terrible odds, he fights God because he\u2019d rather be fighting him and near to him that giving up and being alone. I believe there couldn\u2019t be a night better spent than in an epic struggle with our faith, one that leaves us battered and bruised but blessed.<\/p>\n I do not wrestle enough with my God. I tip toe up to him, now and again, and ask quietly and with all due respect, could you please do \u201cx\/y\/z\u201d and thank you for \u201cx\/y\/z\u201d. For better or worse, I\u2019ve got to get angry or desperate for my prayers to get real. This is what it takes for people like me to open up. I\u2019ve got to get Old Testament angry. It works the same way in the real world. I can fight passive-aggressively with the best of them if I let myself. You won\u2019t know what hit you but you\u2019ll want to wipe that creepy smile off my face and you’ll wonder how many ways there are to interpret the words, “I’m fine.” But the guise slips when I get really mad. Suddenly, there\u2019s emotion<\/em> behind my actions. Forget the game-playing, let\u2019s talk (or fight) this thing out, nose to nose.<\/p>\n That\u2019s all God wants of us. He wants a little fighting spirit. Because when you fight for something you care about it. If I\u2019m spitting mad at my husband for getting home late from work it\u2019s because I want him near me. I want more time. I want. The saddest ending to a day would be the one when I don\u2019t care. Jacob wrestled for his blessing because he knew the power of God. He\u2019d fought many battles before, and he knew that fight in the darkness was the most important of his life.<\/p>\n I\u2019m going to try to drop the pretense with God. I\u2019m going to talk and talk without censoring my feelings, because what kind of censor bar can you place in front of God? What thoughts in your head and your heart can you black out so that the Omniscient doesn\u2019t see? I think he\u2019d appreciate the honesty. I think he\u2019s been rolling his eyes for a while now and I don\u2019t want to run the risk of falling for my own act. I don\u2019t want to be stuck playing the girl who doesn\u2019t care.<\/p>\n Save<\/span><\/p>\n Save<\/span><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mom-gene.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Jacob-Wrestling-with-God.jpg?resize=253%2C370\")
<\/p>\nSunday Thoughts Link Up!<\/strong><\/h2>\n
It’s time for another Sunday Thoughts Link-Up! I know there are many out there with wisdom that could encourage all of us. As long as it’s Biblically-based, I’d love for you to join up and then read and comment on what others have shared. Please also leave a comment here. Think of this as a Sunday morning community group that comes to you. And grab the button if you like…<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/mom-gene.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/Sunday-Thoughts-Button.jpeg?w=1170\" "\\"The")
<\/div>\n